(Mods, please move if I've chosen the wrong forum. I did a search on " cat " but it came up empty.)

I support a cat who loves chase-and-pounce games, and I'd like to get a laser pen for his enjoyment. I currently know essentially nothing about lasers apart from their being coherent-light emitters that operate at various quite short wavelengths and are dangerous at anything over a mW or so.

There seems to be an arbitrary amount of junk out there, so I'd appreciate some knowledgeable recommendations on a decent quality pointer that emits in a range cats enjoy.

MMacD, welcome to the forum. If you plan on sticking around and participating, it would be nice to post a little about yourself in the welcome section (like a brief introduction) and familiarize yourself with the forum rules, etiquette, and proper laser safety (all of which are easily referenced via sub-forum "sticky" posts). If you are just here for your pet toy question, then let me offer my opinion since I have 3 dogs and 2 cats that all love the dot chase as well...

Like Hislordship posted, anything less than about 5mW should be fine, but I would caution ordering a low powered laser pointer from eBay unless you know the seller to be reputable and selling what they advertise. There are a ton of lasers that are grossly overspec being sold on eBay. For instance, I ordered a "5mW" violet 405nm laser pointer for about $6 and it meters in at 70mW on my LPM. A "5mW" green 532nm pointer that I paid about $8 for meters at 75mW. Both of these would not be suitable for a toy to use with pets... the risk of accidental eye damage is too high. I ended up spending a few extra dollars and got a 1mW 650nm red pointer to use as a pet toy. If you are really looking for something that is nice that will last, you could commission one of the artisan laser craftsmen on this forum to manufacture one for you. Not all lasers built have to be huge and/or powerful. Lasers being used for specific functions that add joy and fulfillment to one's life are just as important as the ones that light things on fire (imho).

MMacD, welcome to the forum. If you plan on sticking around and participating, it would be nice to post a little about yourself in the welcome section (like a brief introduction) and familiarize yourself with the forum rules, etiquette, and proper laser safety (all of which are easily referenced via sub-forum "sticky" posts). If you are just here for your pet toy question, then let me offer my opinion since I have 3 dogs and 2 cats that all love the dot chase as well...

Like Hislordship posted, anything less than about 5mW should be fine, but I would caution ordering a low powered laser pointer from eBay unless you know the seller to be reputable and selling what they advertise. There are a ton of lasers that are grossly overspec being sold on eBay. For instance, I ordered a "5mW" violet 405nm laser pointer for about $6 and it meters in at 70mW on my LPM. A "5mW" green 532nm pointer that I paid about $8 for meters at 75mW. Both of these would not be suitable for a toy to use with pets... the risk of accidental eye damage is too high. I ended up spending a few extra dollars and got a 1mW 650nm red pointer to use as a pet toy. If you are really looking for something that is nice that will last, you could commission one of the artisan laser craftsmen on this forum to manufacture one for you. Not all lasers built have to be huge and/or powerful. Lasers being used for specific functions that add joy and fulfillment to one's life are just as important as the ones that light things on fire (imho).

My research shows that cats cannot properly perceive red (though external anecdotal evidence shows that red lasers still work to entice them) due to the lack of true red sensitive cone cells in their eyes. This seemed to be supported by my own cats' reactions, never chasing anything other than blue, green, or yellow. Yellow is closest to the peak response of their long wavelength cone receptor, but yellow lasers will cost you a couple hundred dollars. No response was shown to 405nm violet lasers in any of my cats either.

So, if you're not looking to spend a lot of money, look for a cheap 1 to 3mW 532nm green pointer, and get it from a trusted seller, not a Chinese shop, and not from eBay.

FWIW; green and blue had no effect in moderate to strong background lighting, only in dim or dusk lighting, but 593.5nm yellow worked even in bright light. This might be in part due to the strong emission lines at 546nm and 435nm from the mercury in modern fluorescent lighting washing out the 532nm and 445nm from laser pointers.

i like put several layers of clear scotch tape over the laser pointer aperture when playing "laser tag" with cats.

this dims the beam and fuzzes it to help avoid damaging kitty eyes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMacD

(Mods, please move if I've chosen the wrong forum. I did a search on " cat " but it came up empty.)

I support a cat who loves chase-and-pounce games, and I'd like to get a laser pen for his enjoyment. I currently know essentially nothing about lasers apart from their being coherent-light emitters that operate at various quite short wavelengths and are dangerous at anything over a mW or so.

There seems to be an arbitrary amount of junk out there, so I'd appreciate some knowledgeable recommendations on a decent quality pointer that emits in a range cats enjoy.